


As Long As You're Here

by alecthefanboy



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M, a very depressed bittle, angsty, i dont know how hospitals work, or anything, or medicine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-04 12:18:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15841146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alecthefanboy/pseuds/alecthefanboy
Summary: They were meant to be. From the moment Jack kissed him for the first time, Bitty knew. He was ready for their happy ever after but sometimes the universe does't make it that easy.





	1. the mind may forget

**Author's Note:**

> i got the idea for this fic a while ago and finally got some inspiration to get some stuff written for it. feedback is highly appreciated.

Tonight was the night. Jack had purchased the ring a few months ago, but had delayed the actual proposal because the time just didn’t seem right. He was so busy with his duties as Captain of the Falconers that, if he had done this earlier, he would’ve had to leave the next day for training or games or something. They were in the off-season now (a bit sooner than he would’ve liked, but there was nothing he could do about it anymore) and he knew he had the time to devote completely to a certain blonde-haired baker.

 

He had told his parents when he went to purchase the ring, mostly because he didn’t know what to get, so Alicia helped him find one that he could tell was perfect. He had just finished up the final team practice before their long off-season break, stopped back at his apartment to get the ring box, then went on his way to meet Eric.

 

He had suggested a fancy dinner under the premise of their three-year anniversary, and Jack hoped that Bitty would be surprised, that he hadn’t ruined it somehow. He knew that Bitty was already at the restaurant and he felt a bit bad for making him wait for a while already, but Eric understood his schedule and how busy he was so he knew he wouldn’t really mind. Jack had messaged him that he was on his way after picking up the ring and was now almost there, only about ten minutes out.

 

He had chosen the restaurant they’d be eating at because, though their dinner selection was good, the desserts were even better. Bitty was obsessed with trying every dessert item on the menu and trying to decipher the recipe so the he could recreate it at home. He had made several attempts so far that Jack thought tasted great, but Bitty insisted that there was still something off. Nonetheless, this restaurant was Bitty’s favorite fancy place to eat and Jack was excited to treat his boyfriend (and soon-to-be fiancé) to a nice anniversary dinner.

 

He pulled to a stop at a red light, letting his mind wander a bit as he waited for it to go back to green. He had a huge smile on his face, and why wouldn’t he? He had the extreme pleasure of dating the most caring man in the whole world and he couldn’t wait to officially propose that they spend the rest of their lives together.

 

The light turned green and he pressed on the gas to get his car moving again, neglecting to recognize the approaching headlights on his left before they hit.

—

Tonight was the night. It had taken Eric quite a long time to save up enough to get the ring; he knew he’d be paying it off for a long time, but it was so worth it. He had been with Jack for exactly three lovely years - as it was night of their anniversary - and he was ready to ask him to be together for the rest of their lives.

 

A few weeks earlier, he had dinner with Bob and Alicia, when Jack was busy at an away game, and asked for their blessing. Maybe it seemed old fashioned for him to do so, but his mother had raised a proper gentleman so it just seemed right to get their permission beforehand. They wholeheartedly approved and said they would be honored to have him as their son-in-law, which just about brought Bitty to tears.

 

So now it was time. Bitty was seated at a table in his favorite restaurant with a glass of white wine next to him and his phone in hand. He had gotten a text from Jack a few minutes ago saying that he was on his way, so he opted to scroll idly through Twitter, bouncing his leg impatiently.

 

He clicked on the button to write a new tweet and started typing.

 

Eric Bittle

@bittybakerboy

special anniversary dinner with my significant other!! hoping to surprise him!!

 

He added a ring and crossed-fingers emoji, took a picture of the table he was at, then posted the tweet. His phone was immediately flooded with notifications; as the boyfriend of a very successful hockey team’s captain, he had gotten quite the following on social media. It was pretty daunting at first, but Eric couldn’t lie and say he didn’t enjoy the support and attention from so many people worldwide.

 

The replies on Bitty’s most recent tweet were either the eyes emoji, asking in all caps if he was proposing, or just key smashes. He chose an eyes emoji tweet at random and replied to it with even more eyes emojis, then continued scrolling through his twitter feed, his notifications continuously going off. He refreshed his feed a couple times before reading the first tweet. His brows drew together as his eyes skimmed it, confusion and concern blooming in his chest.

Freddie boi

@hockeyfan97

how many people have seen the post? i’m really hoping he’s okay. i hope @bittybakerboy is okay #prayersforjlz

Bitty clicked on the post, his heart speeding up. He didn’t understand, did something happen to Jack? What was going on?

 

Most of the replies on the tweet were just asking what post was he talking about, so Bitty found no answers. He clicked on the hashtag to skim through it’s popular tweets and his hands began to shake.

 

It felt as though his blood ran cold and the air was sucked out of his lungs upon seeing the first tweet: two cars, one smashed into the driver side door of the other. Bitty immediately recognized the truck in the picture as Jack’s blue pickup. His phone clattered onto the table in front of him, his hands too numb to hold it anymore. His entire body was shaking and he could see in his periphery that people were starting to notice, but he couldn’t care about that now because Jack was in a car accident. A really bad one, at that. Was he okay? Was he  _ alive _ ? What was Bitty supposed to do?

 

Almost automatically, he picked his phone back up with shaking hands and went to his contacts, pulling up one of the first people in the long list of names. Pressing the button to dial, he got up on unsteady feet, making his way outside of the restaurant.

 

The person on the other line picked up after just a couple rings and her voice came in strong and sweet but it did nothing to calm Eric’s pure panic.

 

“Eric? I thought you and Jack would be having dinner by now. What’s up?”

 

Eric could feel his heart beating so fast he wondered how she couldn’t hear it through the phone. “A-Alicia... Jack-... he... he’s...”

 

Alicia’s voice came again, but this time it was heavy with concern. “Eric? What’s wrong?”

 

“Jack, he-... I-I was here at the restaurant, and then T-twitter... The-There...” He couldn’t speak; he couldn’t even believe this was happening, what was he supposed to do?

 

“Eric, take a deep breath for me, please.” He tried his best to do so but it was very shaky. “Something about Jack on twitter?” Her voice sounded farther away, probably meaning she was pulling up twitter on her phone.

 

“I-I saw a post and I didn’t understand, I clicked on the hashtag, and Jack, he-... His car... There was a picture...” Bitty couldn’t fight the sob that ripped through his chest and he collapsed to his knees, clutching his phone with both hands so it wouldn’t fall.

 

Then he heard Alicia gasp and mutter, “No...” He heard her shout for Bob. “Bob! Bob, come here, something happened to Jack!”

 

Eric’s sobs and heartbeat drowned everything else out, he was aware of some muffled talking on the phone before he heard the call end.  _ What was he supposed to do now? _

 

He felt a hand on his back and flinched away, looking up at a stranger with tear-streaked cheeks. He saw their mouth move but he couldn’t hear them. He just shook his head and shakily got to his feet.

 

_ I need a taxi... _ he thought before wiping his face with the sleeve of his navy blue suit. He walked to the edge of the street, holding out an arm to hopefully get a taxi’s attention. In a few seconds, one pulled up and he got in, somehow able to get out the name of the nearest hospital, hoping Jack would be there.

 

As he sat in the back seat, unable to fight the tears that continued to overflow, he thought one thing.

 

_ Please be alive, Jack _ .

 

* * *

 

 

The first thing he became aware of was a constant beeping. The next was the pain, a deep pain that throbbed through almost his entire left side. He clenched his fists and drew his eyebrows together as he tried to bear the pain.

 

There was a gasp close to him and he heard a familiar voice say “Bob, I think he’s awake! Jack, honey, can you open your eyes?”

 

He felt a light touch on his right forearm and turned his head that direction, trying to open his eyes but the lights were too bright and they hurt so he just closed them again.

 

“I-... it hurts...” he managed to rasp out, his vocal cords rubbing against each other like dry pieces of tinder. Why did everything hurt so much?

 

“I know, honey, your father’s going to get a nurse and they’ll help you so it doesn’t hurt so badly. I’m so glad you’re awake.” His mother choked out a sob and he could feel her squeeze his arm a bit tighter.

 

“Can I ha-..” he coughed a couple times, having difficulty pushing words out of his dry throat. “Have some water?”

 

“Of course, honey, I’ll get you some,” She walked over to the other side of the hospital room where there was a small bathroom and came out with a small cup full of water. “Do you think you can sit up a bit?” she asked as she walked back to him.

 

Jack tried to push himself up into a sitting position but his muscles screamed at him, too weak to carry his own weight and he choked out a gasp as pain shot through his left leg. Tears rushed to his eyes of their own accord and he slumped back down, squeezing them shut and gritting his teeth until the wave of pain passed.

 

“Okay, that’s okay honey, just tilt your head back a bit so you can swallow.”

 

Jack nodded and leaned his head forward, a small bit of relief going through him as the water touched his dry tongue and momentarily wet his throat. But the tiny cup wasn’t enough. “More please.”

 

Alicia nodded her head again. “Of course.” As she went back to the bathroom to get more water, a tall, red-haired man entered the room, followed by his father.

 

“Hey there, Mr. Sandman. You finally decided to wake up and stop dreaming, huh?” asked the red-haired nurse, giving him an easy-going smile.

 

Jack didn’t have the energy to really talk to any one that wasn’t his family so he just responded with the barest of smiles and a small nod. He watched silently as the nurse checked what he assumed was his vitals and just did his job. His parents had retreated to the corner of the room and Alicia was whispering to Bob. Neither of them took their eyes of him throughout the whole thing.

 

“Alrighty, seems like everything’s all good with you, I’ll go get the doctor and tell him you’re awake.” He gave a charming smile and turned and left the room.

 

Jack sighed and leaned back into his pillow more. His parents walked back over to his bed and his mother put her hand on his arm again while his father gently patted his shoulder. “Hey, Jack. How ya feelin, bud?”

 

Jack winced, the slight touch to his shoulder sending pain all the way down his arm. “It hurts. My whole left side.”

 

“Yeah, well, that was the side the car crashed into you. Do you remember that?” Bob questioned.

 

Jack tried to think about being in a car crash but nothing came to mind. He shook his head.

 

Alicia and Bob exchanged a couple of worried looks. “Well the doctor said that might be the case. You got a pretty bad concussion in the accident.”

 

“How long ago was that? The accident?” Jack asked, his brows furrowing.

 

His mother’s grip on his arm tightened before she responded. “It’s been 17 days since the accident. You haven’t woken up since you were brought in. We were so worried about you.” Jack saw the glint of a tear make its way down her face before she quickly wiped it away. “We’re just so glad you’re awake, honey.”

 

There was a knock on the door and someone came through, a blonde, professional-looking lady that Jack assumed was the doctor. Alicia went to the other side of Jack’s bed to make room for her.

 

“Hello, Jack, my name is Doctor Emilia Ruth, it's great news that you’re awake. Your nurse, Timothy, notified me and mentioned that you might be having some elevated levels of pain, can you tell me where?”

 

“Almost my whole left side. Especially my leg and ribs.”

 

Emilia nodded, writing stuff down on a clipboard. “That makes sense seeing as those are the places you broke bones. You also have lacerations and extensive bruising on your left arm, so that would be why that hurts as well. Any head pain?”

 

Jack nodded his head slightly. “Yes, but not as bad the rest of me.”

 

She smiled and made another note. “That’s good to hear. I’ll send Timothy back in with some medicine to help alleviate your pain and I’ll come back in again later to talk to you some more about your recovery.” She turned and started to leave but Alicia caught her before she did and talked to her quietly just outside the door.

 

Jack looked back toward his father who was staring at him with concern. He noticed on the nightstand next to his bed there was a hefty accumulation of cards, some of them opened, some not. There was also a plate of what looked like snickerdoodle cookies.

 

Bob followed his line of sight and smiled. “Your friends have been pretty worried about you. It was almost impossible to get Eric and Shitty to go home and get some rest of their own; they were so worried about you.”

 

Jack didn’t immediately recognize the names. He couldn’t remember the car crash but what else had he forgotten? The only friend he could remember having was Kenny. He didn’t know who this Eric or “Shitty” was, what kind of name was that?

 

He was about to ask his father about Kenny, but then the nurse returned, Timothy. He rolled in a small table with a needle and other assorted items.

 

“Now, this pain medicine is gonna make you real tired so you’ll probably fall back asleep in a few minutes. It’ll only be a nap though, not a hibernation like you just woke up from,” he said, trying to joke but when no one in the room laughed his smile fell and he cleared his throat. “Uh, this’ll just take a second.”

 

Timothy quickly put the medicine into Jack’s IV and turned and left as soon as he finished with only a small nod to Jack’s parents.

 

Jack was staring at the ceiling as he heard the sound of the door shutting and his mom’s blonde hair came into view as she leaned over him. He took a deep breath and could feel a numbness starting to take hold of his body and fogging up his mind. A warm, soft hand brushed his bangs away from his face and he felt a gentle kiss on his forehead along with the light sweet scent of his Maman’s perfume. He smiled slightly before his eyes closed and he felt like he was drifting on a cloud, weightless, painless, not a worry in the world.

 

* * *

 

 

The last two weeks had been the worst of Eric’s life. He had gotten hardly any sleep since the accident and he knew everyone could tell. He didn’t go on social media and eventually just deleted the apps off his phone when he couldn’t handle the constant stream of notifications asking him if he was okay, if Jack was okay, if he would make a vlog talking about this.

 

Eric wasn’t okay. No one even knew if Jack was okay because while his physical injuries would heal up just fine, they had no way of knowing if there was extensive brain damage from his concussion and no way to test for it while he was in a coma. He definitely wouldn’t be making a vlog about this anytime soon because even thinking about Jack brought him to tears.

 

Eric stood in front of the mirror at the apartment he shared with Jack. It was so empty without his boyfriend, so quiet without the constant sound of hockey games or history documentaries in the background. The only thing that Eric could do to keep himself busy, to not completely lose it, was bake. The past two weeks he was sure the hospital staff had gotten more donated baked goods than they had in ten years.

 

It was all Eric knew how to do, he either sat by Jack’s side at the hospital, holding his hand and pleading with the lord or whoever would listen to let Jack wake up already or he was at his empty house, cranking out more baked goods than a Little Debbie’s factory.

 

He looked up at his reflection. His eyes were puffy, tinted red from how often he was crying, and purple shadows under them to show how little sleep he had been getting. He had stubble growing out, too tired to shave recently, and he’d forgotten when the last time he’d properly showered was. He knew how bad he looked. He heard what Bob and Alicia said when they thought he was sleeping by Jack. He had gotten plenty of reminders from Shitty. He loved them all but sometimes he got tired of being reminded of how much of a mess he had become.

 

Eric shook his head looking away from his reflection in disgust. He turned the faucet on and quickly splashed some cold water on his face to make him feel more awake, then patted his skin dry. He shuffled out of the bathroom and walked down the hall past his and Jack’s bedroom, grabbing his jacket from yesterday that he had discarded on the ground. Tugging it on, he proceeded to the kitchen, picking up the bag that was stuffed with cookies, brownies, and mini pies. He knew some of the staff so well that he was taking personalized requests now but refused any money they tried to offer him. He didn’t bake for the money, he did it because it was the only thing that he was good at and that could take him out of his depressed headspace for just a bit.

 

He grabbed his keys before turning off the lights and locking the door, going to the elevator. Someone greeted him and he gave them a smile and nod but his eyes didn’t focus enough to see who it was. He got on the elevator, pressed the button for the ground floor and waited. Once he got outside of the building he waved down a taxi, getting in and listing off the address of the hospital, this being a memorized routine by now. It didn’t take long for the taxi to arrive at its destination and Eric handed over the proper amount of money before slipping out. 

 

He basically knew the walk to Jack’s hospital room with his eyes closed by now but he stopped by the check-in desk to deliver his goods. He was given multiple greetings and thank yous but he just nodded his head, muttering “My pleasure,” then shuffled off to room 115.

 

Alicia had texted him earlier that day that her and Bob were at the hospital keeping Jack company, and she had told him to sleep in and get some more rest. Which, if you’re wondering, didn’t happen. Eric had just lied on the ground for a couple hours, staring at the ceiling as the shadows in the room slowly moved, the only passage of time that he was aware of.

 

A nurse named Timothy waved politely at him with a smile and Eric gave a small wave back. “I just gave him some medicine so he’ll probably be asleep soon but if you hurry you might be able to say hi!”

 

Eric stopped in his tracks, Timothy’s words running through his head again. “Be asleep soon”... Meaning he was awake? He looked at the red-headed nurse with a mouth agape and eyebrows drawn together. “What?”

 

A flush crept up the other man’s neck and he looked concerned. “Oh, uh, he woke up about thirty minutes ago. I thought you knew already... Sorry...”

 

Eric didn’t even stick around to hear the apology and ran to Jack’s room, barely remembering to knock before bursting in. His eyes immediately went to Jack before flicking up to Alicia and Bob.

 

“Honey, I’m so sorry, he just fell back asleep,” Alicia said as she strode across the room to wrap her arms around the young boy that had become so important to her son and therefore to her as well.

 

Bob wasn’t far behind and Eric felt a second pair of arms wrap around him but he still just stood there, staring at Jack. “But, he’s okay?” he asked, his voice shaky and high-pitched.

“Yes, he’s okay. He’s gonna be okay.”

 

Those words from the woman who was basically a second mother to him along with Bob rubbing his back comfortingly is what finally broke him in that moment. If Jack’s parents weren’t holding him so tightly, he would’ve collapsed on the ground.

 

He was okay. Jack was okay. He still had injuries sure but those would heal and he’d be okay and they’d go back to living their content life in their apartment and Eric would be able to sleep in their bed again, wrapped in the arms of the love of his life.

 

Tears streamed down his face, leaving a considerable wet spot on the shoulder of Alicia’s shirt but she didn’t stay anything, just carded her hands through his hair and hugged him tightly.

 

Eric managed to calm himself after a few minutes and took his usual seat in the chair next to Jack’s bed, holding his right hand. Whenever he took up this spot previously in the past two weeks, he had held Jack’s hand, asking for him to squeeze it or twitch a finger or something, to show Eric that Jack was still there. But now he held his boyfriend’s hand because it helped to ground him and gave him something to do with his hands other than bite his nails or pick at his cuticles, a couple of bad habits he’d adopted recently.

 

Alicia and Bob left him to go get some lunch from the cafeteria in the hospital and probably also to give him some alone time. Alone time which he really did not need. He was so sick of being alone, going back to a big empty apartment that didn’t feel like home when Jack wasn’t there. But Eric just sat there, never letting go of Jack’s hand, waiting for him to wake up again.

 

As soon as he had stopped crying he’d sent a text into the SMH group chat (which probably didn’t count as an SMH group anymore seeing as the majority of the people in it had graduated by now) saying that Jack had woken up for a bit but fell back asleep after getting some pain meds. He also DM’d Shitty, asking when he’d be able to make it back to the hospital again, then turned on Do Not Disturb mode and put his phone away. He wanted to try and get some semblance of sleep, and the only time he could was when he was next to Jack like this.

  
  
  


Next thing he knew, he was slowly blinking his eyes awake, wincing at a charlie-horse in his neck as he sat up straight. He brought both hands up to rub his eyes. When he was able to open them again and have clear vision, he saw Bob sitting on the other side of the room, reading a Hockey magazine.

 

Bob glanced up and smiled, lowering the magazine. “Sleep well?”

 

The blonde shrugged and looked to the dark-haired sleeping man next to him.

 

“He hasn’t woken up again yet, don’t worry. You didn’t miss anything,” Bob assured him with a gentle smile.

 

Eric nodded and leaned back in the chair again, his hand instinctively seeking out Jack’s. This time, when he wrapped his fingers around the other man’s there was a twitch in them and Eric turned his head sharply, ignoring the ache of pain as his neck protested the quick movement.

 

Jack’s eyelids were fluttering and his brows were drawing together. His fingers weakly squeezed Eric’s. Eric stood up quickly, leaning over Jack, waiting with bated breath to see those icy blue eyes again for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

 

Jack’s eyes opened slowly, and he was squinting at the ceiling before his eyes focused on Bitty. By then, Eric couldn’t see any more, his vision blurred by the flood of tears in his eyes and he leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Jack as best he could. “Sweetheart...” was all he could manage to say between his sobs.

 

Jack grunted beneath him and Eric felt a hand pushing on his chest and he sprang back, worried that he’d hurt Jack, but when he looked into his eyes, he didn’t see pain, only confusion. Jack tried to sit up but hissed out a breath between his teeth and looked around Eric to Bob.

 

“Papa, c'est qui?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments are appreciated and u can follow or message me on tumblr @greggoryyy


	2. Chapter 2

As Jack floated back into consciousness, he felt a warm hand in his. At first he thought it might be his mothers but it wasn't as slender as hers, nor as calloused and rough as his father's.   
  
He opened his eyes slowly, still being assaulted by the bright light of the hospital, and a face floated above him and on his right. He squinted at the person, trying to figure out who it was, thinking for a second that it was Kenny, then the man choked out a sob and muttered “Sweetheart...” with a slight drawl that sounded southern and definitely wasn't Kent’s voice.    
  
He felt arms around him, suddenly enveloped in an earnest hug from this man that he did not know. Unable to back away since he was confined to the bed, he moved his hand to the man’s chest, grunting when he jostled his left shoulder, and pushed him away.    
  
He retreated quickly and frantically looked over Jack’s left side, then back into his eyes. This blonde man with chocolate brown eyes seemed to be familiar with him, he could see it in his eyes, but he had no idea who it was.   
  
He tried to push himself up but failed and instead craned his neck so he could see his father and asked, “Papa, c’est qui?”   
  
Bob’s eyebrows drew together for a second, then a look of realization flitted across his face, immediately followed by something else that Jack couldn’t identify. He got up and stood next to the blonde haired man at his bedside, his eyebrows still drawn tightly together. “Tu ne le reconnais pas?”   
  
Jack looked up at the other man again, who looked more and more worried, then back to his father and shook his head. “Non.”   
  
Bob took a deep breath and ran a hand over his face. He turned away from Jack and the blonde man looked at Bob and then glanced back at Jack before crowding to Bob’s side, gripping his arm. “Bob, what’d he say? You know my French has never been any good.”    
  
Bob placed a hand on the man’s shoulder, a look in his eyes that Jack couldn’t comprehend, but made the other man start to tremble. He shook Bob’s arm weakly. “Tell me what he said,” he demanded in a hushed voice.    
  
Bob looked back at Jack who sat there, confused by all of this. “Je vais chercher l’infirmier, je reviens tout de suite.” Then he wrapped an arm around the blonde man’s shoulders and ushered him out of the room.   
  
Jack rested his head back against his pillow, and closed his eyes against the bright lights. He already knew he had forgotten some things, like the car accident, but hadn’t dwelled on it much before drifting off into another medicinally induced slumber. But did his forgetting go further than that? Had he forgotten people? The man who hugged him had called him Sweetheart, meaning they must be close but the only friend Jack could remember was Kent Parson, who he hadn’t seen yet.   
  
He tried to summon any memories he might have of this man but all he got was a throbbing headache.   
  


* * *

  
  
Bob ushered Eric outside of the hospital room as the younger man still clung to him.    
  
“Bob, what did he say?” Eric asked, his voice shaking because he thought he might know what was happening but he didn’t want it to be true.   
  
Bob sighed and gripped Eric’s shoulders, forcing himself to meet his eyes. “He doesn’t know who you are.”   
  
Eric felt his heart stop and was reminded of how he felt the night of the accident. His legs shook and he would’ve collapsed if Bob hadn’t been holding him. Jack’s father pulled him close and wrapped his arms around him as Eric felt tears run down his cheeks. Eric couldn’t stop shaking.   
  
“I’m sure it’s only temporary, though. Jack loved you too much to just completely forget you,” Bob reassured him.    
  
Eric nodded numbly and stepped back, wiping his face. “I wanna talk to him. Maybe if I do, he’ll start to remember.”    
  
Bob nodded. “Of course, I’m just gonna go get the doctor and let her know that he’s awake and that he has more memory loss than we thought.”    
  
Eric watched Bob walk off and turned back to the closed door of Jack’s hospital room. This changed everything. Bitty was eagerly awaiting the day Jack would wake up and being able to talk to him again and kiss him again and take him home so he wasn’t alone anymore. But it wouldn’t be that easy. Bitty didn’t want to consider the fact that Jack may never remember him, he just wanted to work on coaxing out the memories from wherever his mind had hid them. He took a deep breath and opened the door to the room again.   
  
He knocked on the door as he entered, not wanting to scare Jack, knowing how he was with people he didn’t know. He waved cautiously as he stepped in and tried not to feel hurt when Jack’s eyes slid over him only to search behind him for someone else, probably his father.    
  
“Where’s my dad?” he asked, a guarded expression on his face that Eric recognized though it hadn’t been directed at him in quite a few years.   
  
“Bob’s getting the nurse and the doctor,” Bitty said as he crossed the room. He hesitantly reached out a hand as he neared Jack’s bed. “My name is Eric Bittle, by the way.” He hoped saying his name would maybe spark a chain reaction in Jack’s mind but his face remained blank and guarded.    
  
Jack, ever the gentleman, returned the handshake weakly. “Jack Zimmermann, but you probably already know that. I’m sorry, are you a friend of my father’s? I seem to have forgotten some things.”    
  
Bitty’s heart only broke slightly but he did his best to keep the warm smile on his face. “Yes, I suppose you could say that. If you don’t mind me asking, what all do you remember? Do you remember the names of your friends?”   
  
At his second question, Eric saw Jack’s brows furrow and could tell he was searching his brain. “I remember one name... but that's it.”    
  
Eric perked up slightly and his smile grew, hoping it would be Shitty he remembered or someone from Samwell or the Falconers, but the name that came instead was definitely not what he was expecting.   
  
“Kent Parson is the only name I can really remember. Do you know if he’s going to come see me? Or if he stopped by while I was asleep?”   
  
Bitty didn’t really know what to say. Jack and Kent hadn't been friends since Jack was a teen and they didn’t really keep in touch, even though they had seemed to work out some of their problems on the request of Jack’s therapist. Kent’s name never even came up unless they were watching an Ace’s game.    
  
“Umm, I don’t know if he’s stopped by.” He hadn’t but Eric didn’t wanna just say that if Jack only remembered Kent as his oldest friend. “I can try and get in touch with him and see if he’s around,” Bitty offered.    
  
Jack nodded and granted the blonde man a small smile that made Eric’s heart flutter. “Thank you.”    
  
Eric returned the smile but it faded far too quickly. Would this be his life now? The love of his life, the man he was prepared to spend the rest of his life with, not having any knowledge of him anymore. Eric didn’t know if he could take it. His heart had almost broken years ago when he thought Jack would graduate and leave and that would be it, until it was stitched up by Jack’s earnest lips and gentle hands, assuring him of something he hadn’t even dared to hope for.    
  
And all at once, being here was too much when this was the moment he’d been yearning for for two weeks, waiting for Jack to wake up, their tearful reunion, and the gentle kisses Bitty would lay all across the dark-haired man’s face, thanking the lord that he was okay and that he woke up. But the moment is as far as possible from what he had imagined, more bitter than sweet and Eric could feel his heart shriveling. He needed to go home (which how could he even call it that when Jack wasn’t there), he needed Shitty to come there and Lardo, too. He couldn’t handle this alone.   
  
He blinked himself out of his thoughts and managed to pull up an apologetic smile on his face. “Well, I’ll let you get your rest. Bob should be back soon. It was nice talking to you, Mr. Zimmermann.” Calling him that left a sour taste in his mouth, because it wasn’t a playful nickname between two friends, but now a formality between supposed strangers. He gave a parting nod to Jack before turning and exiting the room, maybe too quickly.    
  
Eric passed Bob in the hallway, but didn’t look at him, didn’t respond to his name being called. He was breaking down, and he didn’t want to do it in the middle of a hospital for everyone to see. He managed to hold himself together for the most part until he reached the nearest bathroom, locking the door behind him and clenching his hands into fists to try and stop the shaking. His head was jumbled and the only thought running through his head was “This can’t be happening.” But it was, and he didn’t know what to do.    
  
His hands shook badly as he fumbled to get his phone out of his pocket and he dropped it once. He turned it on, his foot tapping against the ground as he waited for the phone to turn on. As soon as it did, he didn't waste time checking his messages, he just called Shitty immediately, and he didn’t have to wait long for Shitty to pick up.    
  
“Hey, Bits. Got your message about Jack waking up! That’s amazing, how is he?”   
  
And somehow, those words, or maybe Shitty’s excited tone, is what finally broke him down, and the tears started falling, his breath hitching and shoulders shaking.   
  
“Bits?” Shitty asked and Eric could hear that there was concern in his voice.    
  
“He doesn’t know who I am...” he manages to choke out. Saying it out loud makes it too real and he sobs even harder.   
  
He hears a quiet gasp through the phone line. “What?”   
  
“I guess he suffered some memory loss from the concussion. The only friend he can remember is Parson. Shitty, I don’t know what to do...”   
  
There's a soft curse from the other line and Eric can imagine him running his hand through his hair, a habit he kept from before he got the chop. “Okay, I’m getting Lardo, and we’re heading over right now. You shouldn’t be alone right now, Bits, we’ll be there as soon as possible. We’ll figure out what to do together.”   
  
Bitty nods, even though Shitty couldn’t see him. “Okay...” he managed to choke out, his throat tight from crying.   
  
“It’s gonna be okay, Bits. We’ll figure it out,” Shitty repeats, trying to reassure Eric but probably also himself.    
  
Eric makes a noise of confirmation and Shitty says “See you soon,” before hanging up.    
  
With his tears all cried out, Bitty just feels numb now. He wipes the wetness on his face away with his sleeve and gets up, unlocking the door and walking out. It’s a good thing he has the route through the hospital memorized because he can barely acknowledge his surrounding and just relies on his feet to know where to take him. He waves down a taxi and mumbles out his address, staring at his hands, his mind feeling empty.


End file.
